Bingo, this is how incadescence work: heating any solid material above a certain temperature will make it glow, all we need to worry about is finding a material

Bingo, this is how incadescence work: heating any solid material above a certain temperature will make it glow, all we need to worry about is finding a material that can withstand the temperature and make it into an efficient package. Gas mantles work pretty much the same way. A cage made of ceramic metal oxides (formed by firing a cotton bag dipped in thorium or yttrium nitrate, if thorium is used then every use will release a few microrems of radioactove radon gas) is heated by gas or oil fire to incadescence; because the temperature is much higher than a light bulb, gas lamps actually waste less heat as infrared.